TAMPA BAY: GASPARILLA, PASCO STAKES SATURDAY COULD REVEAL UNPOLISHED GEMS

By Mike Henry —-

GASPARILLA, PASCO STAKES SATURDAY COULD REVEAL UNPOLISHED GEMS

OLDSMAR, FL. – The winner of last year’s $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, trainer Mark Casse’s Florida-bred Two Sixty, added to her laurels in July with a front-running victory in the Grade III Selene Stakes at Woodbine.

But it was fifth-place Gasparilla finisher Swiss Skydiver who just about set the horse racing world on fire last Jan. 18.

After missing the winner’s circle at Tampa Bay Downs by less than a length (her Equibase chart comment read, in part, “…was urged to challenge the winner four wide between foes leaving mid-stretch but was floated out by that foe late while losing her momentum and just missing for a share”), Swiss Skydiver put together a season that made her one of the most popular horses in training and the favorite for an Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly.

Under the guidance of trainer Ken McPeek, Swiss Skydiver won five graded stakes, including the Grade I Preakness – beating the probable Horse of the Year, Authentic – and the Grade I Alabama.

Such reflection is a roundabout way of suggesting that Saturday’s 7-furlong Gasparilla and the $125,000, 7-furlong Pasco Stakes for 3-year-old males could produce one or more runners fans are talking about deep into 2021 and beyond.

Saturday’s 11-race Skyway Festival Day card, which also includes the $50,000 Wayward Lass Stakes for older fillies and mares racing a mile-and-a-sixteenth, begins at 12:10 p.m.

Seven sophomore fillies are entered in the Gasparilla, which is the sixth race on the card. The field includes Feeling Mischief, who returns to competition after winning the 6-furlong Sandpiper Stakes here on Dec. 5. She is trained by Michael B. Campbell and will be ridden again by Jesus Castanon. Trainer Tim Hamm has two entries: Charge It All, who won an allowance/optional claiming race here on Dec. 20, and Make a Scene, who broke her maiden here Dec. 26. Wilmer Garcia rides Charge It All and Roberto Alvarado, Jr., is named on Make a Scene.

For some entrants, the Gasparilla is intended as a prep race for the $150,000, mile-and-40-yard Suncoast Stakes on Feb. 6. The first four finishers in the Suncoast earn “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” qualifying points.

There are eight sophomore colts and geldings entered in the Pasco, which is the seventh race on the card. The field includes Nova Rags, a colt from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Nova Rags broke his maiden on Oct. 10 at Belmont and finished fourth on Nov. 8 in the Grade III Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct. Leading Oldsmar jockey Samy Camacho will be the rider.

Others to watch include The Distractor, a stakes-placed gelding trained by Kathleen O’Connell, and Newyearsblockparty, a supplemental entry trained by Anthony Pecoraro. Hector Diaz, Jr., will ride The Distractor and Jose Ferrer will be on Newyearsblockparty.

The Pasco, for some, is a prep for the Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on Feb. 6; the Sam F. Davis is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race.

Although none of the horses in last year’s Pasco did much to attract widespread notice, the two previous winners scaled the heights. The 2018 winner, Florida-bred World of Trouble, finished second in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs, then strung together five consecutive stakes victories, starting with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Marion County Florida Sire Stakes in his final 3-year-old start in which he achieved a Tampa Bay Downs Beyer Speed Figure record of 109.

World of Trouble’s victories in 2019 included the Grade I Carter Handicap at Aqueduct on the dirt and the Grade I Jaipur Invitational on the turf at Belmont to conclude his career.

The 2019 Pasco winner, another Florida-bred named Win Win Win, has also burnished his resume since setting the still-standing track record of 1:20.89 for the 7-furlong Pasco trip two years ago. The final start of his career, in the Grade I Forego Stakes in August at Saratoga, resulted in a thrilling, come-from-behind victory.

Throw in such previous winners as Catalina Red (2015), Dynamic Sky (2013), Prospective (2012) and Musket Man (2009), and it’s apparent many top horsemen look upon the Pasco as a launching pad for horses they hope will take them places throughout the year.

So although you haven’t heard much from any of the 3-year-olds set to perform Saturday, it’s a safe assumption the best days are ahead for a select few.

Or, as Yogi Berra (the baseball player, not the horse) might have said, you never know until you find out.

Nine older fillies and mares are entered in the Wayward Lass, slated as the ninth race. Estilo Talentoso, a 4-year-old owned and trained by Juan Arriagada, returns to competition for the first time since her victory on Aug. 20 in the Escena Stakes at Gulfstream. She has finished first or second in eight of her nine starts. Jose Batista is the jockey.

On the Town, a 5-year-old mare from the barn of Hall of Famer Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III, and Lucky Stride, a 5-year-old trained by Michael Trombetta, should also be competitive. Diaz has the assignment aboard On the Town and Antonio Gallardo rides Lucky Stride.

Around the oval. Wilmer Garcia and Isaac Castillo each rode two winners today. Garcia captured the second race aboard Tea Party, a 4-year-old filly owned by Bach Stables and Robert J. Molloy and trained by Robert R. O’Connor, II. Garcia added the fifth race on the turf with Feisty Kitten, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Ranieri Dossantos and Mario Torres Vargas and trained by Chandradat Goberdhan.

Castillo won the fourth race on Secret Life Style, a 6-year-old gelding owned by Robert Lesher and Carmen Roberson and trained by Don Roberson. Castillo also won the eighth on Bustin Hearts, an 8-year-old mare owned by Angel Ubarri and trained by Victor Carrasco, Jr.

Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:42 p.m. The co-features are the fifth race, a 5-furlong allowance/optional claiming turf sprint for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward, and the sixth, a 6-furlong allowance/optional claiming race on the main track for older horses.

Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule. The track is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.